1. Field of Invention:
This invention relates generally to merchandise display racks, and more particularly to a display rack and a color selector assembly adapted to present to a homeowner a group of sample boards showing actual roof shingles in a variety of colors, and to afford a visual picture of a typical home whose architectural style is similar to that of the owner, the roof of the pictured home being selectively covered by a shingled surface in any one of the sample colors to assist the homeowner in making a proper choice to replace the worn shingles on the roof of his residence.
2. Status of Prior Art:
Most residential homes have a roof covered by shingles. A shingle is a small piece of building material, usually of rectangular shape with one end thicker than the other, the shingles being placed in overlapping rows to create a roof covering.
When shingles are exposed to the elements for a prolonged period, they tend to curl, crack, oxidize and rot, particularly in the case of wood shingles. Hence most shingled roofs have a limited life and require replacement after a few years of wear. In recent years, shingles have been developed that are water and rot-proof and therefore have a longer effective life. Thus a shingle is now commercially available in the form of a layer of waterproof asphalt having ceramic-coated granules dispersed therein, the asphalt layer being laminated to a fiberglass base. But regardless of the type of shingles covering the roof, it is still necessary to replace the shingles after many years of wear, particularly in a rigorous climate.
Shingles which are now available come in a variety of decorative colors, often in the form of color blends that simulate the appearance of natural materials. These shingles come in redwood and cedar blends, as well as in blends which impart a slate-like or weathered wood appearance thereto.
When therefore a homeowner finds it necessary to reshingle the roof of his home, he must decide on a color which reflects his taste, yet does not violate the architectural style of his home. For example, a shingle having a color blend simulating weathered wood may be appropriate to a home in a rustic or Cape Cod style, but is altogether out of place on the roof of a more formal Tudor style residence. Or a shingle whose color is suitable for a home in a contemporary style may be incongruous on the roof of a home in Swiss chalet style.
In most American suburban communities, the homes are in various 19th and 20th century styles and even in 18th century colonial styles. The range of architectural styles and the current availability of color choices in roof shingles makes it difficult for the homeowner to make a sensible selection when the time comes to replace the worn shingles on the roof of his home.
Though a homeowner can visit a building supply showroom or other facility which carries roof shingles in a range of materials and colors, he is not usually able, simply by looking at shingle samples, to determine how these would look when used to cover the roof of his own residence. It is for this reason that the present merchandising practice is for a shingle salesman to call on the homeowner at his residence with a kit containing a large assortment of shingle samples in different colors, so that the homeowner can then inspect these samples in the context of his home's architectural style.
This practice, which entails field trips on the part of salesmen carrying heavy sample cases, is time-consuming, costly, and inefficient. Moreover, even though the homeowner can then place a shingle sample board on his roof to see how it looks in this environment, it gives him no real impression as to the appearance of his roof when fully covered with shingles of a given material and color.
One faces a comparable problem in deciding on the color of paint to be applied to the walls of a room. The visual impression made on a large wall area coated with paint of a given color may be quite different from that obtained merely by placing a small color card against the wall. The phenomenon of color perception is complex and depends not only on the particular color but also on the area covered thereby. Thus a green paint covering a large wall area appears much less intense than the same color paint applied to a small area, for the eye makes a different optical accommodation to the smaller area.